Sign Design Matters

Signs matter.

Most customers will look for your sign, not your address, when they visit you the first time or the thirtieth time. Your business’s sign is one of it’s most visible branding elements, and it’s something you want to get right. Here are some things to keep in mind as we work together to create the best sign for your business.

Keep it Simple

Some business owners feel like if their sign isn’t complicated, they aren’t getting their money’s worth. A sign’s value is not measured by how many twirls there are on the font or how many whimsical flowers decorate the border. All of those cute design elements detract from your main mission: A clear, readable sign.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a logo or any design elements. Your logo certainly belongs in your sign. Any additional design elements should be selected very carefully, however. The most successful signs often utilize negative space well and aren’t crowded with images.

Make It Easy to Read

If you’ve ever passed a restaurant and struggled to figure out what the name was, you know why this is important. Your name is your branding at its most basic, and your sign is an extension of that branding. An unreadable sign is the worst kind of sign, because it confuses customers and can drive them away.

Making sure your sign is readable involves choosing a simple, readable typeface and making the text free from visual clutter.

Choose Colors Wisely

Your choice of color can either work for or against you. The first test should always be readability: Yellow on black pops and is easily readable, yellow on white can make your customers squint in the sun just trying to discern your name.

Once you’ve determined that your color combos are readable, consider other associations they might have. Do your color choices represent a local sports team? Are there any other well-known businesses that use your colors? You want to know what customers are going to think when they see your sign, so you need to be aware of any associations they might form just from the colors on the sign.

Use Relevant Images

If you do decide to integrate images into your sign, make sure they are easily identifiable and have a clear relationship to either your branding or to your core business.

Think About Your Whole Facade

Signs don’t exist in a vacuum. They hang on the outside of your building. When you’re designing a sign, you need to think about what will look good on your building, not what would theoretically look good if it were suspended from the clouds.

Consider the color, material and style of your building, as well as the general surroundings. A neon sign on a busy corner window would seem perfectly normal, but that same sign would be inappropriate hanging from a quaint country church.

The bottom line is that signs need to be clear and readable above all else. It’s also important that signs fit with your overall branding and that any associations the sign evoke are ones that you’re intentionally encouraging customers to make.